Saving Lives
by writingartist94
Summary: Harry goes back in time, and saves a few lives. I know, it's been done before, but this is way different. Rated K for minimal swearing.
1. The Mission

**Hello, people of earth!**

**I decided to make this fan fiction, because I thought it sounded like a good idea. Let me know what ya'll think, kay?**

**Enjoy!**

"Wait, are you sure?"

"Harry, you could save the lives of thousands, maybe even millions."

"But, Hermione, it's illegal!"

"I don't care. Do you want Snape back or not? What about Fred, Sirius, Remus, Tonks? Mad Eye? Dumbledore? Your _parents_?" Harry was silent, while the Time Turner was dangling from her long, slender finger. "Harry, if you do this right, things could turn out way different for you. You might even wind up marrying someone different."

"That would be weird. I mean….not being married to Cho?"

"Ginny still has her eye on you." Harry flushed dark red, and shuffled his feet.

"I always wondered what would have happened had we not lost contact after the war…" He muttered.

"Exactly." Hermione said. "And, Ron doesn't know I'm letting you do this. So don't worry about us, alright?" Harry stared at the long, golden chain, sparkling in the shine of the nearby light. He took it, and draped it off his neck. HE picked up the hourglass piece, and looked at her.

"Look, Hermione, if something doesn't work out…"

"Turn it back in reverse order. It works every time." Harry smiled in slight relief.

"Hermione, thank you. I can't wait to make a difference." She grinned, and hugged him.

"I told Ron you were going on an emergency business trip, and won't be back for a while. Eventually, life will go on. But you'll come back. What's the story to Cho?"

"Business trip, top secret." Harry relayed off. "Thanks, Hermione." They hugged again, before Harry turned the Time Turner back eight times, and he was off.

Off to another adventure.

**I know the chapter is a bit short, but I didn't want everything to be in the same chapter. I wanted to prolong it. Next is chapter two!**


	2. First Meeting

**All righty, there's nothing to say, except that I'm sick, and I can't stop sneezing. So, without more delay, here's chapter two.**

**Enjoy!**

Harry looked around. It was dark, chilly, and he could see the full moon rising. His breath rose in mists around his face, spewing from his chapped lips, and into the chilly night air. His jacket almost wasn't thick enough. He pulled his Invisibility cloak on over his head, and waited for the opening of the front door. Instead, emerging from the dark, foggy Forbidden Forest, three large animals emerged. Harry caught the large werewolf, and immediately ran for cover somewhere, where he'd be safe to transform. He took off his Cloak, before transforming into a beautiful, golden-brown stag. After his months of planning with Hermione for this, he had become a registered Animagus, improved by leaps and bounds on his magic, and had also decided on where he'd stay, and how he'd get there. Right now, he was going to play.

After he hid away his bag, he ran off towards the group, where the large, shaggy Labrador bound at him, barking happily, and ready to play. The other stag came at him. For a long time, they played, until they collapsed, exhausted. As daybreak neared, the werewolf ran off to the Forest, while his friends went towards the castle, fully human. Harry ran back to his hiding spot on the Hogwarts grounds, grabbing his stuff, throwing on his clothes, and making a mad dash for the gateway to Hogsmede. He made it, and ran towards the local flats, to rent himself a place to live.

*****Back at Hogwarts*****

"You haven't a clue?"

"No." James said to Sirius.

"You know, Lily's a doe, right?" James blushed very slightly, and nodded. Sirius smirked. "Well, whoever he was, its fur sure matched yours and Lily's." Peter bit into his toast. Lily was at the end of the table, talking with Sarah Lupin, Adeline White, Scarlet Brown, and Alice Hooper. They were all in the Seventh year as well. They laughed simultaneously.

"You going to Hogsmede?"

"Of course. I've got to bring Remus back some chocolate." James told Sirius. "Besides, he'll be asleep until tonight, you know him." Sirius smirked, and Peter laughed.

"Right, he likes to do that." Sirius said. "Hey, you know-" He was interrupted by a sudden kiss from Scarlet, his girlfriend.

"You ready, babe?" He grinned.

"Love, I was born ready."

"If you want to get technical, you were born Sirius Lee Orion Black." James countered.

"Or, if you want to get really technical, you were born a baby." Peter said. They laughed.

"Can it, guys. I'm taking off. I'll see you around, mates." Peter waved, as James turned to Lily, who joined him.

"Hey, sweetheart." She said, kissing his cheek. He leaned in, and kissed hers back.

"Ready, honey?" He asked. Adeline was still talking to Sarah.

"Sure am. Bye Peter!" The happy couple walked off, to Hogsmede. They went towards the city, holding hands, and laughing about something that had happened in class the prior week.

*****Harry's P.O.V*****

Harry walked down the streets, kicking a rock. There wasn't a single place to stay. Not even the rooms were available. As it was becoming more dangerous, families were moving into inns and pubs, trying to keep their beloved children close. He hadn't been able to find a single solitary place to live, even a house. Well, this wasn't expected. Hermione hadn't even seen this.

Suddenly, he looked up. There was the Shrieking Shack. And there was a very familiar couple watching it, arms around one another, and looking at it in awe. Harry approached it too, and thought that he could make it his home. It would make his mission the much passage out of the Shrieking Shack was right onto the school grounds. He could get into the castle…

"You okay, sir?" Harry turned to look at the couple. It was James and Lily.

_Mum and Dad…_

"Yeah. Just…" He sighed. "I've really got no place to go." He muttered quietly. "I've left home, and well, see, I'm stuck without a place to live. Around here, all the rooms are full."

"That's horrible, I'm sorry." Lily said. James was thinking. "What made you leave?"

"They didn't want me to complete my mission." He said. "My aunt and uncle. Muggles…they wouldn't understand."

"You didn't live with your parents?"

"Died." Harry said. "In a car crash. I was the only survivor." Lily looked horrified. "It's not so bad, because I don't remember them much." Harry continued.

"What's your mission?" James asked, looking curious.

"Killing Voldemort." James' jaw hardened, while Lily shuddered at the name.

"Why?" She asked.

"He killed my parents. That car crash wasn't an accident. How many car crashes do you know end in blinding green light?" There wasn't an answer.

"Give him a good beating for me, will you, mate?" James asked coldly. "He kidnapped my parents last night." Harry wanted to cry for his father's heartbreak, but thought they might find that weird. Suddenly, before they could respond Sirius, Remus, Peter, , Frank, Alice, and three other girls. Harry didn't know any of the girls except Alice, and he wanted to kill Peter right on the spot.

"Mate, we've been looking all over for you!" Sirius called out.

"Yeah." Remus looked up. "Oh, hello. I'm Remus."

"I'm Sirius!" Sirius said.

"Harry." Harry mumbled.

"This guys going to kill Voldemort." James said. "And I want to help." Harry looked up at him.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Because I know of something you could do on campus."

"What?" James asked.

"Get me in,"

"NO way!" Lily said. "Come on, you know the rules."

"You want to kill him or not, Lily?" James asked. "He'll get to your parents if you don't."

"Come on, you know he's going after the Muggles." A girl with orange/red hair said. "Severus said so himself, he's going to attack any day. And he'll be targeting muggle-born families first." Lily winced at that idea.

"Scarlet's right." Sirius said. "We can't just stand by and let them torture James' parents, or kill yours."

"What about your brother?" Remus asked. "We can't let him be corrupted." Sirius nodded.

"Right then. I think we've got that settled." Frank said.

"How are we going to get in?" Lily said.

"Well, if you go in the Shrieking Shack, you can get on the grounds from there." James replied. "And from there, we can sneak Harry into the school."

"We could put him in the Room of Requirement." One girl said.

"Good idea, Sarah." Remus said. "It's a great place to live, and we'll know exactly where you'll be at."

"And, I'll come find you so we can work on getting the bastard killed." Harry found his father's wording very accurate, as Riddle never had known his father.

"And, we can sneak you in food and such. Or other supplies, depending on what you need." The only other girl whose name he didn't know. Remus beamed at her.

"Right, Addy." He said. She smiled at him. They were definitely together. Harry wondered what happened to them.

"All right, well, we need to get him into the castle after we get him on the grounds." Lily said, finally joining in. "How?" James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all grinned.

"I think I've got an idea." James said. "All right, mates, here's what we'll do."


	3. The Plan

Harry had a small backpack on his back, filled with a change of clothes, his wand, a spell book Hermione lent him (he should really get his own copy, it was quite useful) and a bite of food. He would be in the Shrieking Shack for a while that night and decided he better have some things to prepare him more for what laid inside. He read on spells for magical fire, he read about a few others that countered dark magic, and he even practiced his parsletounge with a random snake he caught in the field. In fact, Harry and the snake were so caught up in their conversation, he failed to noticed a really freaked out Remus, and a fascinated James standing in the doorway.

"Mate, you sure you weren't Slytherin?" Remus asked.

"No, I promise." Harry said, laughing. "I just kind of picked it up one day." Lies, but they believed him.

"Come on, Lily gave us the all clear." James held out a map, covered with the details of the entire school, and people moving about. _The Marauder's Map._ "Nice map, mate. You make it?"

"My friends and I did. Pretty advanced magic, though. It was rough, but we did it." James said. "The signal was, she'd be in the second floor girls bathroom, which is right by the statue of Gregory the Smarmy. From the Gryffindor locker rooms in the Quidditch pitch, we'll be able to sneak you in there. Sirius will be in the locker rooms, waiting to give us the signal."

"Wish we had several of these maps, mate. We could have used locations as signals." James nodded, and headed towards the exit of the Womping Willow. They headed towards the Quidditch pitch, and met Sirius in the locker room. He transformed to a dog, and took off ahead of the group, making his way through the passage behind a broom stand, and heading off to tell Lily. Remus went halfway through, and was stopped by a rat on the ground.

"Peter?" The boy was fully human, suddenly, and looking panicked.

"Snape caught Lily hanging around by the statue!" HE gasped.

"Does Padfoot know?" James asked. Peter nodded.

"I caught him right at the transformation point." James thought. He pulled a cloak out of his back pocket. "Here, Harry, you get under here." He pulled on the cloak. James Disillusioned Peter, and Remus. "There. Let's go find Sirius." They met up with him. He put his finger to his lips ,then looked at James. "Where are Harry, Remus, and Peter?"

"Harry's got the Invisibility Cloak, and I Disillusioned the other two. I'll do the same to you. I'll lead the way out. I've got an idea." James whispered in hushed tones, cracking his wand over Sirius' head. James smirked, then looked around.

"All right, Lily, looks like we were wrong." James said, jumping down from the passage. "Nobody's in there." Harry, Sirius, Peter, and Remus, put under a silencing charm cast by Remus, jumped down from the passage. Because the door closed when nobody was through it, James kept his hand there, until he felt the stirring of air as each person passed through come to a settle. He was pretending to lean on it, and had shifted his position. "Snivellus."

"Potter."

"Look, guys. Severus, we were doing Head duties, I told you. See?" Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Just because James and I are dating, does not mean that I'm going to join in on their ridiculous schemes."

"Ridiculous?" James feigned his hurt. "Was it so ridiculous when the guys snuck down to the kitchens, against your wishes, only to return with a surprise cake for our six month anniversary, the whole plan set up by yours truly?" Lily smiled.

"Well, no, that wasn't so farfetched. Nor was it every time you've snuck out to see Sirius, Remus, Peter, or Frank in the Hospital Wing." She said, smiling kindly. James grinned. Harry smirked.

"Well, if you will excuse us, Snivelly, I've got work to do." James said. "Possible Slytherin taunting innocent children, must go save and punish!" James was off. "Lils, I'll check the seventh floor, you check the sixth." James said. Translation: meet me up there. She nodded, and walked away from her best friend, before going up the stairs. James led his friends through the halls, taking off their charms. Because they were seventh years, and it was a Saturday night, they weren't required to be in bed until midnight. It was still barely eleven thirty. Harry, however, stayed hidden. James led Harry to the right location, where Harry could freely pull of the Cloak.

"Good, we're safe." James said. "Now, if we could.-"

"We've got the food you'll need, mate." Frank, Alice, Sarah, and Adeline were waiting for him. Scarlet was making a list of books that they thought Harry could use for his mission, and would bring them to him tomorrow.

"All right." Harry said. They were pretty good. Harry walked past the passage way, and into the door that had appeared.

"I knew you lot were up to no good." James, Harry, Lily, Frank, Sirius, the girls, and Peter turned to Snape's menacing voice. "Letting in a complete stranger to Hogwarts."

"Look, Snape, this isn't what it looks like." James said. "Honestly, we're-"

"What? Letting in someone to take over the school?" Severus had always blamed James' nasty attitude towards him on James and Sirius alone. But, Harry could tell that Severus was partially to blame. After all, he was jumping to totally wrong conclusions.

"Look, Snape." Harry said. "I'm here because I know how to kill Voldemort, and the pieces to do the mission are in this school." Harry said. "You going to an enemy, or help a kid who wants to avenge his parents death out?"

"Kill the Dark Lord, you say?" Severus said. "I might be interested."

"You?" Sirius scoffed. "Aren't you one of the idiots who tried to convince my brother to get into Voldemort's gang?"

"The Death Eaters? No, that was Lucius." Severus said quietly. "Well, what are we waiting for? What's your plan?"

"The plan for now, was to get Harry into the castle, and from then on, we'd use our nights to come plan some more, make sure he has his supplies, and help him get the thing he needs." Harry opened the door.

"Guy's McGonagall alert." Remus said hurriedly.

"All right, here's your stuff." Frank gave him four overstuffed bags of food, and even one of clothes. "They should fit you."

"Thanks."

"And I'll help Scarlet bring your research materials later." Sirius said. James turned to Harry.

"Good luck." He said. _His eyes are like Lily's…so weird. _James thought, before taking off. Harry closed the door, and turned to find the best room he'd ever imagined.

There was a small kitchenette, and a living room, filled to the brim with books. The kitchenette was roomy, yet sized for one person, and there was also a hallway. Harry went into the kitchen, and put his food away, before heading down the hallway, and finding the master bedroom. It was attatched to a master bathroom. There was a half-bathroom down the hall, and a spare bedroom too. Harry put the clothes Frank had given him, and taken out his shrunken belongings. He sized them to normal size, and began unpacking his clothes, all of the books Hermione had given him, and all their notes on how to get to the Horcruxes.

That was how Harry planned to kill off Voldemort, get to his Horcruxes first, then go into the ministry, to abolish laws that were discriminatory against werewolves. He planned on doing that all in one go. But for now…

Harry tossed himself onto the softest bed he'd ever slept on, and passed out.


	4. The First Horcrux

That following afternoon, Sirius, James, Lily, Remus, and Scarlet all returned with their arms laden with books, some their own, others they borrowed. They sprawled them out on a table that was conjured, where they sorted them into piled, depending on their subject. Harry had been deciding on whether or not to brew any useful potions, when he'd came across a new room, that held a vast amount of potions ingredients, and several burners, with cauldrons placed on them.

"Oh, Sev gave me these." Lily said, giving Harry a stack of books to work through. Potions texts. "Said he's got them memorized, and thought you could use them."

"Thanks." Harry said, placing those in another pile. "I was just thinking about that this morning, actually."

"We've got to take off, or we'll be late to defense, but we'll be back after dinner." James said. Harry nodded, and they left. Harry went, sorting through his prior research, what Dumbledore had told them, and making sure that he knew where to find each item. He knew he could find the location of Marvolo Gaunt's ring, the Slytherin Necklace, Tom Riddle's diary, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Salazar Slytherin's locket, and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem were. He already knew how he was going to get the diadem, as it was in the Room of Requirement. Harry knew exactly where to look, and would use Remus, Sirius, and James' help.

Later that night, the three boys and Lily came in, and sat around his table.

"I think I know someone else behind the enemy lines that can help us." Sirius said.

"Who, mate?" Sirius left, and came back with a smaller boy, looking strikingly like Sirius. "Harry, my brother Regulus. Reg, the other man trying to destroy Voldemort."

"Awesome." Regulus said, reaching over, and holding out a hand to shake with Harry's.

"Wait, so you'll shake hands with a Slytherin, but you basically ignore Peter?" James asked. "What did Peter ever do to you?" Just then, there was a loud thump that came from the back window, and Harry went to investigate.

"Hermione?" Harry asked. She smiled, and nodded.

"I couldn't let you do this all by yourself. I found more books."

"Where in the world did you get another Time Turner?"

"Bought it off of Mungdungus. He stole it."

"You…bought stolen goods?"

"It was for your sake, now let's go kick Voldie's butt!" She said.

"All right…but my parents, Remus, Sirius, and Regulus are out there."

"What?"

"Hermione, how do you think I got into the room of Requirement in the first place?"

"Is that where we are?"

"Yes…yes it is."

"Oh, well, that explains so much." She said.

"Alright, I've thought of a plan, but we have to tell them what's going on."

"No way Harry." Hermione said.

"Look, if you're appearing out of my bedroom for nothing, we're going to have to tell them, now come on!" Harry pulled a protesting Hermione into the living room, and into the kitchen, where Sirius, Regulus, James, Remus, and Lily were looking bewildered.

"Look. I'm not really some kid off the streets. I'm from the future." Harry said. "My best friend here has also dropped in."

"How?" Regulus looked skeptical. Harry pulled the glittering Time Turner from around his neck.

"Like this." Harry said. "And, James…Lily?" They looked up at him. "I'm your son." They gaped at Harry in shock. "Sirius, you're my godfather. And Remus…you were an amazing D.A.D.A teacher in my third year, and knew me ever sense."

"What about me?" Regulus asked.

"You died." The others burst out laughing at Harry's bluntness. "No, but you died doing what we're all trying to do. And I want to stop that, before it's too late." They all nodded, looking determined.

"What happened to us?" James asked.

"That part is true…I grew up with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. They abused me my entire childhood, and…I didn't die because you both died trying to save me." They looked at him in shock. "Voldemort killed you both. You were betrayed by Peter."

"I would like to keep my fate in the dark, thanks." Sirius said. Harry laughed. Remus nodded heartily in agreement.

"All right, well, now that we've got that out of the way, we need to get this established." Harry said. "I need a few Basilisk fangs, and the only place to get those around here is the Chamber of Secrets."

"How are you going to get in there?" Sirius asked. "Don't you have to be a Parsletounge?" harry didn't answer that.

"Can you lot get away for the night?" Harry asked.

"Oh, sure." James said. "Everyone will think Remus and Sirius are in the Head dorms with Lily and me." James said.

"I never sleep in my own bed." Regulus said. "Usually I go off on my own. "

"Perfect." Harry said. "Because tonight-we get the diadem."

"Why?"

"Ever heard of a Horcrux?" Regulus' eyes went wide.

"Yes." He said. "The Dark Lord has them."

"According to my research," Harry began. "He has five. In the future, he had seven." Harry said. "And, one he doesn't make until much later, when I'm fourteen, and the other one he already killed off." He smirked. "It was inside me." They gaped at him.

"What objects are they?"

"Hold on, what the heck is a Horcrux?" Sirius asked.

"A piece of someone's soul. You only obtain it when you kill someone." Hermione explained.

"Oh."

"Well, what are they?" Regulus asked.

"Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, his own diary, and Marvolo Gaunt's ring."

"Marvolo Gaunt? He's dead. So is his son, Morfin." Regulus said.

"You know where the house is?"

"No, but Severus does. And the Dark Lord Trusts Severus with his life."

"Well, Severus can help us then. But tonight, we need to get into the Chamber of Secrets, and get rid of that diadem."

"Hold on, how are you going to get into the Chamber?"

"We'll go at midnight." Harry said, ignoring Sirius' question. "And we'll destroy that piece of soul."

"Perfect." James said, grinning.

*****Before Midnight*****

Remus, Harry, Sirius, James, Regulus, and now Severus sat in the living room at ten thirty, having a heated discussion. Lily and Hermione were in the kitchenette, discussing men.

"No, I'm telling you, that is _not_ how you fake someone out!" Sirius said.

"Yes it is, mate." James said. "I've been both Chaser and Seeker. I would know!"

"Look, I'm a Seeker too, youngest player in a century." Harry said. "And diving is definitely a good way to fake someone out."

"How do you pull out of a dive that low down?" Remus asked.

"It's easy; you just have to be quick." James said.

"And, somehow you'll score on the other team as well?" Severus asked.

"That's not all you can score on, playing Quidditch." Regulus said. Sirius grinned, and the brothers knuckle-touched. Everyone stared at them.

"And six hours ago, they'd have told me they had no brother." James muttered.

"Same here." Severus replied. Remus laughed.

"You're like Sarah and I." He said.

"Sarah your sister?"

"Yeah, she's my twin." Remus said. _I had no idea Remus was a twin. I guess either something happened to her, or she lost touch. Although, there was that one woman around his age at his funeral…_

"That's cool." Harry said. "I know a set of twins." The Weasley twins…a hard lump formed in his throat. "World's greatest Beaters. If they hadn't opened a joke shop, they'd have become professional." Except Fred died…_George hasn't played Quidditch sense._

"Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"Scoring."

"On women or in Quidditch?"

"Yeah."

The girls, on the other hand…

"He really is sweet." Lily said. "Well, when we're alone. Maybe with Remus. I think he's afraid of Sirius' reaction if he gets a little romantic in front of me."

"Then initiate." Hermione said. "My boyfriend was like that a lot. He's Harry's best friend, and was afraid Harry would make fun of him. Harry would tease us a little, but never anything really mean. And he got it." Lily nodded. "If you want a kiss, give it to him. If James and Sirius are as close as you say they are, then Sirius shouldn't care."

"All right. Thanks, Hermione." Lily said. "You know, secretly, I was wondering when James was going to ask me to marry him, and we'd wind up with kids." The girls giggled. "He looks so much like James."

"He does."

"My dad would be proud. He's got a lawyer's determination." The girls both giggled.

"THAT'S GROSS!"

"I'M DEAD SERIOUS!"

"Hey, why am I dead?" There was a loud, group, male laugh, making both girls giggle.

"Men." Hermione said.

"Gotta love them." Lily replied. They both laughed.

"Hi Mum, hi Hermione."

"Don't call me mum, that's weird." Lily said to Harry, who was walking through.

"Well, calling you by your given name is too." Harry replied.

"Didn't think of that." Lily replied. Harry looked at the clock on the wall, as Sirius, Regulus, Severus, Remus, and James came into the room.

"All right. It's time." The clock read quarter to midnight. Lily and James put Disillusion Charms on Sirius, Remus, Harry, Regulus, and Severus. They had Head Boy duties from midnight to 1:30, and would be able to keep an eye on the situation, while Sirius stood guard outside the entrance, and Severus, Remus, and Regulus joined him. They silently and swiftly went towards the second floor girl's bathroom, and removed their charms. Moaning Myrtle looked surprised.

"Myrtle." James said. "Tell me something. What happened, the night you'd died?"

"I was in this stall, when something came in, speaking a language I didn't know." She said. "I could tell it was a man's voice. So, I opened the door to tell it to 'GO AWAY' and I died."

"What did you see?" Harry asked.

"A pair of bright yellow eyes, staring at me from that sink right over there." Myrtle confirmed what Harry had told the group, when they looked at the sink. Severus caught the snake.

"It's Salazar Slytherin's snake."

"And it's his secret chamber." James breathed. "Wicked."

"How in the world do you open it?" Harry took a deep breath, and turned towards the sink.

"_Open up the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets." _He hissed at the door. Lily shuddered, Regulus and Severus looked awed, Remus a bit freaked out, and Sirius and James grinned.

"Like that I take it." Remus said in a strangled voice.

"That was the absolute creepiest thing I have ever heard." Lily said, sounding mortified. They heard voices. James swore under his breath.

"Go guys! Hurry, we'll keep the teachers from knowing!"

"Come on."

"Sirius, you've got to go!" James pleaded.

"Come on." Harry jumped in first, and was soon followed by the others.

"It's closed!" Regulus shouted.

"That's okay, there's got to be another way out." Harry shouted. They landed on a pile of skeletons of dead animals, before Harry lead them through. Hermione brought up the rear, both having cast Lumos.

"Harry…" Hermione ran towards Harry. "The last time we were here, the snake was dead."

"So?" He realized what she was saying. "Oh crap." A loud, piercing roar came from the Basilisk.

"Holy crap!" Regulus shouted. "What the heck was that?"

"The Basilisk." Harry said. "Come on. And whatever you do, don't look it in the eye." This time though, they had their wands. This time, there was no Voldemort soul fragment, commanding it to kill Harry.

"I hope it obeys you." Harry said.

"Why?"

"Because we can't speak Parsletounge."

"Obviously, but it doesn't. But I know one spell that can get rid of it." Harry said, fierce determination in his eyes. After they climbed through more portals, opened by more Parsletounge, they found the snake, curled up, and it's back to them.

"All right…" Harry tried the Parsletounge thing first. _"Hey, you! Knock out one of your teeth, and throw it this way!" _It completely ignored him. "Well, it was worth the shot."

"Kill it." Harry heard. "I'll help you crush it's skull with this boulder." A large boulder Harry hadn't noticed was sitting there.

"All right." They went, and _Wingardium Leviosa_'d the boulder, and threw it at the snake's head. It was dead. Harry grabbed several fangs, and put them in a bag, before running back through the portals they came through.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Severus asked. A large Phoenix came through suddenly. "Fawkes?"

"Yes! Grab on to someone, and make sure you're all somehow connected to me." Harry said. They did that, before Harry reached up, and grabbed onto Fawkes, who flew them out of there, and back into the seventh corridor hallway. The group ran, until James and Lily caught up to them.

"You're safe!"

"Good." Harry went to the Room of Requirement, and thought _"I need a place to hide my book."_ The door appeared, and Harry ran into the room, and went to the cabinet, where Harry grabbed the diadem, and ran back out, before thinking, _"I need my quarters back."_ The room appeared, and they all ran inside.

"That was one heck of an adventure." Remus said. "Nothing we've ever done." James nodded.

"Well, let's destroy it." Harry set the diadem on the table, and pulled out a fang, making sure to be careful, before banging it into the diadem, which it then ricocheted off of, and making Harry punch himself in the forehead, knocking him over. The others laughed.

"Smooth, mate." James said, helping him up. "Try…hmmm…" James conjured up a large box, completely clear, and put the diadem in it. He then sealed it off, and poked his wand through a hole, and said, _"Fiendfyre!"_ He sealed off the hole, as the diadem burst into flames.

"Well, that's certainly one way to go about it." Harry said. "That really hurt."

"Honestly, Harry." Hermione said. Harry groaned and rubbed his head. The others laughed.

"Yeah, feel free to stay here."

"We told McGonagall we had the others in our commons. She's going to check to make sure we were right."

"Go, then." They went off into the dark corridor.

**Well, I have one question for you! Do you want to know what happened while the others were in the Chamber? Who caught James and Lily in the bathroom? How did they get out of it? It would be posted as a side oneshot, but I'll do it if you wish!**


	5. Suspicion and the Second Horcrux

*****Breakfast in the Great Hall*****

James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Frank, Alice, Adeline, Sarah, Scarlet, and Lily all sat at the Gryffindor table the next morning, enjoying a good breakfast.

"Mate, come on. Ten knuts says the next test is on a Tuesday." Sirius challenged James.

"You're on; fifteen says it's on Friday."

"Eight that is won't be until next week." Remus threw in.

"Five that it won't be until next Friday." Lily threw in. They shook hands all around the table, and grinned.

"Whose turn is it to ask?" Peter asked. "I did it last time."

"Remus can. He missed Friday because of his furry little problem." James said. "It would be played off like he might have missed the announcement."

"That's brilliant, actually." Scarlet said. "Do you do this often?" Before James replied, Remus nudged his arm.

"Hold on, mate, Headmaster's at his podium." They looked at Headmaster, and watched as he waited gravely for the students to quiet down. James turned to face him, trying to prove to Lily (and the disbelieving Slytherins he was now somehow friends with) that he had earned the Head Boy badge.

"A very serious matter has been brought to my attention. Sometime within the past three nights, two people, a male and a female, were snuck into the school building." James whipped around to look at Remus, Sirius, and Lily, and then he looked at Severus and Regulus. They looked at James, now thoroughly terrified. "If the student or students will please come forward into my office sometime today, I would like them immediately. If you don't, you will all be considered guilty until proven innocent." When there was a loud outraged cry from the majority of the student body, except James, Remus, Lily, and Severus (the others had to keep up appearances, and James was far too shocked.), Dumbledore silenced them immediately. "These are dark times, children, and we have to take all of the precautions that we can. Go to class." James turned to face his friends.

"The room, immediately." James told the Marauders. They understood, and would soon tell the girls what that meant. Remus pulled Lily off to the side, spoke hurriedly to her, and sent her off to tell Severus something. It was no secret the two of them were close, and James realized it was less suspicious for Lily to pass them messages, than let's say, Sirius.

"Mr. Potter, a moment." James turned around in horror at McGonagall's tone. Was it really only five minutes ago that they were betting on when her next Transfiguration test would be?

"Uh, hello Professor."

"I wanted to tell you I noticed you weren't upset that you'd be considered guilty until proven innocent."

"Well, Professor, it's time that I start showing I earned this badge. My parents were taken from Potter Manor the other day, and I know they were proud of me before. But this time, Professor…." He stood a little bit straighter, a little bit taller, his chest a little bit more puffed out, his shoulders a bit more squared, and he finished with, "And I want them to be proud of me when they come home."

"I'm glad you've taken that approach to life." She touched his shoulder as he went to walk away. "Does that mean you'll be leaving Severus alone?" Regulus and Severus came running at him.

"Come on, we'll be late for D.A.D.A" Severus said. "And Remus is tired of waiting."

"Go on, I'll be there in a moment." James said, then turning to McGonagall. "I don't know, Professor. You tell me?" He said, before turning to go after the two Slytherins who could help him get his parents back.

"Snivellus, can I ask you something?" James asked, the cruel nickname now sounding…not so cruel.

"What?" Severus sounded weary, uncertain now that James had gone back to using the nickname.

"Are you a…follower of the guy we're trying to destroy?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Could you do me a favor? Regulus says He trusts you more than most."

"He does, but the favor depends."

"If you can snoop around, listen for signs of my parents' whereabouts…that would be great."

"I'll find them." Severus said. "My parents are deadbeats. I know what it's like, coming home when they should be there, only to find them not. You know they should be taking care of you, only to find that they are out, higher than Big Ben, drunk as all get up, and sleeping with everyone who flirts at them, to come home, drink, beat the crap out of you, and do it all over again tomorrow." James winced.

"I don't know that life. But I know nobody deserves that life."

"Imagine the Dark Lord's life. He was an orphan."

"How do you know that?"

"He can transform himself back into human form, so he does when he goes back to the orphanage, and the ladies that worked there when he was there, their ancient now, mind you, and they can recognize him now. They think he's the world's greatest man. In reality, he's just another criminal."

"You want this guy gone?"

"Yep." Severus said. "And I'll be glad when he is. Everything can go back to the way it should be."

"Won't we be thrilled?" Severus smirked. They sat with their different respective groups in class, causing quite a stir to come in, and speaking…civilly.

"Look who's finally matured." Avery said. James rolled his eyes, his back turned to them.

"Yeah, look who hasn't." Remus muttered. James smirked.

"All right class…oh, yes Mr. Lupin?" Remus had a hand raised.

"Professor, I wasn't hear on Friday. Did you announce the date of the test?"

"No, I didn't, but now that you mention it…" She looked at her calendar. "It's Wednesday next week."

"Thank you." He said, writing that down. James and Sirius handed over the money as sneakily as possible.

"Professor?" Lily asked. "What was going on with that man that snuck in?"

"Someone confirmed that late last night, while our Head Boy and Girl were getting off their duty, someone had snuck in, and was coming out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She hasn't spoken a word, nor will anyone else."

"Hang on." Nott said. "They were on duty before he was spotted?"

"Yes. And apparently, he was carrying fangs." They looked confused, including James and Lily.

"So, Potter and Evans did it!" Avery shouted. The Slytherins shouted. General agreement ran around the room. Severus looked bored. "Severus, you don't agree?"

"Potter doesn't have the brains or the ability to sneak men into the castle, nor his female companion. And Evans would never do such a thing, don't be ridiculous."

"Severus has a point." One boy said. "Especially on Evans."

"Thank you." James said. "I'm not stupid, though, I wouldn't do something that idiotic." James said.

"How do we know?" Avery taunted. "You always want the center of attention, always want to be the hero. Who says you didn't pay the guy with loads of money to pretend to take your precious girlfriend, only to have you beat him up, and save the day again?" James was on his feet in a flash.

"Because, while I may like pranking people, and love jokes, I'm not dangerous." Severus rolled his eyes. James almost grimaced. "Most of the time, it get's dangerous unintentionally."

"Liar." James wanted to punch Avery in the face.

"Look, James may pull pranks that nobody can prove it's him, but he doesn't lie." Lily said. "He's just really good at covering up the evidence. And he's really good at making everyone laugh."

"Right and you know him so well? Evans, you said so yourself, he's a bully, and a showoff."

"Not anymore." She said. "People do change, Avery. And you seem to do that for the worse, not the better." James was grateful for her defense.

"Lay off him guys." Sirius said. "Look, he helped my brother get out of detention the other day; clearly he isn't so bad anymore."

"Well, it wasn't a fair detention." James said, but nobody heard him.

"And he isn't a showoff? Prancing around in his stupid little badge, only for people to give him more praise and attention. Who's to say he wouldn't let in a dangerous criminal." McGonagall, proud of James' newfound maturity, let the scene unfold, because she wanted the Avery brat to get a taste of his own medicine…er, I mean, she wanted these kids to figure it out for themselves, like they do in the grown up world. "Of course, then again, so is your father. I heard he put up a real fight when your mother came into the room." Nobody messed with Dorea in front of Charlus. Nobody. "Can't run to your mummy now, can you Potter?" Avery's tone was malicious.

"You sun of a-" Sirius began. Remus tried to pounce, before Frank grabbed him by the back of his robes. James shoved Avery back into his seat.

"If your Death Eater of a father so much as looks at my mother the wrong way, you'll pay for it. And I don't accept begging for mercy." James said coldly, only loud enough for Avery to hear him. James turned on his heels, grabbed his bag, and left the room.

"Prongs?" Sirius asked, noticing the tears in his friend's eyes.

"James? Mate, you okay?" Remus asked, as James left the room.

"Should someone go after him?" Remus asked Sirius, Frank, and Lily.

"NO." Professor McGonagall said. "Not this time."

*****James' P.O.V*****

_I hate the little bugger. I wish I could have killed him. Something tells me his parents took mine._ James desperately wished that he could figure out which one of them had taken his parents. His father, so strong and brave, full of life, being forced to be in Voldemort's grasp. And His mother. His poor, sweet, innocent, gentle mother, so pure, so kind, so caring, and compassionate, and they'd torture her, trying to get to his father, who would have a mental breakdown. Charlus Potter's wife was his whole world, and everyone knew it. Even when James was young, and barely riding his training broom, he knew his parents were wrapped around one another's fingers. Dorea, thin, and warm, and so sweet, being _Crucio_'d to death…

Finally, at that thought, James broke into the first sob in years. The stress, the desperation of wanting his parents back, and his pain all came pouring in, and he stopped running, and began to cry. He collapsed to the floor, and sobbed. His heartbroken sobs attracted the attention of tall, lanky Professor Morstan, who was the D.A.D.A teacher.

"Mr. Potter?"

"Professor Morstan! I'm sorry, I was just-"

"What is it, son?" The man asked, looking into the eyes of a heartbroken teen. James looked at the teacher, warm, and caring….and he broke down again. Professor Morstan sat next to him, and wrapped a muscled arm around him. "There there, son. It's all right. Tell me what happened." James couldn't speak, though. The pain had been crippling.

"Right now, sir." He finally managed through is tears. "I just want to be left alone." James stood, and went down to the stairs.

*****At dinner*****

Sirius hadn't touched his food at all, which wasn't all that rare anymore. Sirius had been getting sick a lot lately, with colds and such. But today, the pale cheeks and his downcast expression were worry for his friend, not because of another nasty cold or flu.

"I haven't seen him all day." Sirius sounded sick with worry. "And none of the teachers knew where he was either." Frank looked sad, too. Peter was nowhere to be found.

"Well, he's not in the library." Scarlet said. "He certainly wasn't hiding in the Restricted Section."

"He wasn't in the Hospital Wing." Remus added, sitting down. "And neither was Peter." Lily joined them next, looking crestfallen, and plopping sadly next to Sirius.

"Reg says he hasn't seen him, and Severus didn't see him in Potions either."

"Was he in the Head Commons?"

"Nope." Lily shook her head, tears in her eyes. Sirius wrapped an arm around her, hugging her to his side.

"We'll find him." He said. "Don't worry. I wouldn't lose your boyfriend that easily." Alice, who had silently joined them, held onto Lily's arm, and leaned against her. Remus grabbed Sirius' shoulder to get his attention. They exchanged looks of concern, and Remus went back to his soup, barely tasting what he was eating. Suddenly, a hushed whisper ran around the school, as Severus and Regulus ran towards Lily.

"Lily." Severus said. "I think I know where he is."

"Go." Sirius said to the red headed girl. "We'll have a fake argument." Lily ran, and, with all of her awesome acting skills, pulled off making it look like she slapped Severus across the face. Regulus laughed at him. Severus pushed him. Sirius was in Severus' face.

"Don't you dare, touch my brother." Sirius said. They started arguing, and Lily slipped out with Regulus. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the doors, saying, "Come on, this way!" They ran until they met the Quidditch pitch, where James lay across his broom on his back, one leg hanging off, the other propped up.

"Thanks, Reg, I've got it from here." She squeezed his slender fingers, and walked away.

"Lily?" She turned to the skinny boy. "Thanks for…you know…my brother." Lily smiled.

"No problem. He's a good guy." Regulus nodded.

"Always was. I guess I never saw it." Regulus walked away, and Lily went into the stands, moving silently closer to where James was floating.

"You know, it's a bit cloudy to be getting a suntan." James smiled, but it was humorless, and depressed. "Come here, James." James flew down, and sat next to her. Lily snuggled deep into his side, and kissed his jaw line, before nestling her head in his neck. They sat like that, warm, safe, and supporting one another.

"We have to tell Dumbledore what we know." James finally said. "That Harry is a time traveler, who wound up in our school, and is trying to kill Voldemort."

"And that he knows where the Horcruxes are."

"Exactly. Dumbledore would believe that, right?"

"James, we could get in serious trouble if he found out we knew."

"But, if it brings Voldemort justice, then I'm all for it." James replied fiercely. Lily opened her mouth to reply.

"James!" A voice called in the distance. "James!" The voice was slowly getting louder. "Lily!"

"Hey, is that…do I hear Severus?"

"Glad we found you guys." Remus said. "We overheard something."

"What?"

"I- I know where- where your parents are." Severus wheezed out. "The Avery's have them."

"Are you sure?"

"Regulus is good at asking all the right questions, getting us some answers."

"Thank you." James told the younger boy. He grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sirius said. "We've got to find Harry."

"You guys go…I've got something left to do." James said, grabbing Lily by the hand, and taking off.

"I wonder what they're doing?"

"Snogging." Sirius said to Remus. "Come on, let's go!" They ran off.

*****Two Hours Later*****

"No, James." Lily said. "Normally, I'm all for the rules, but this one's different." There was fierce determination in her eyes.

"Why?" He asked. "What makes this one special?"

"You're parents are involved." James nodded once, and went off to the room of requirement.

*****Harry*****

"Well, that's fantastic, but I can't do anything about it until further notice. I've got to get the next Horcrux." Regulus nodded.

"I can help you with the next one. I know where the locket is, and I got all of the tricks out of it."

"I can't take you out of school."

"We'll go in July. That's a month from now."

"But, Regulus, what about mum?"

"She'll get over it, I'll tell her I'm at a friend's house." There was a knock, then James came in, followed by Lily and James. They sat down in the living room, which had a large table with enough chairs for all of them surrounding the table, and it was piled with notes and information. Sirius was peering over several maps with Regulus, while Remus and Severus sat discussing Dark Magic that may help them destroy the Horcruxes.

"What's the plan?" James asked.

"We need to find the next Horcrux." Harry said. "And I know where they are."

"I want to help with the locket. We can go over Easter Break."

"I can't kidnap you from your parents."

"My parents won't be home." Severus said. "They don't care what I do, who I have over. We'll say he came to stay with us."

"Perfect." Harry said. "How are we going to get past the Potion?" Regulus thought long and hard.

"What if we used the Imperious Curse on one of the Inferi to drink it." Regulus said. Remus looked thoughtful. "Then neither of us dies, and we get the locket. It's a win-win situation, Harry."

"Regulus has a point. And he knows what there is to know about all this stuff. Kind of creepy, come to think of it." Sirius said. James laughed. "But we need to get this going right as spring break starts."

"The Dark Lord is planning on being at the Avery's all weekend. I'll do my best to keep him there, but there aren't any guarantees."

"Why would you go?" Peter asked.

"Because, Wormtail, if he doesn't go, and Regulus hasn't turned up either, it'll look suspicious." James said in all seriousness. "Voldemort will know something's up when two of his more prized servants don't show up."

"If there's anything I can do to keep him from your parents, I'll do my best." Severus said. "Without, you know, being obvious." James nodded once, but the pain was evident in his hazel eyes.

"We need a plan." Remus said. "As its full moon, I can't make it."

"You're a werewolf?" Regulus asked. Remus nodded wearily. "Cool." Regulus grinned. "All the others I meet are scum and can't use a razor properly." Remus laughed.

"Yeah, sounds like Greyback." Remus said, with a bitter tone that surprised Harry. Hermione came into the room with sandwiches.

"Remus is right, Harry." Hermione said. "We need a plan."

"Well, I think I've got an idea." Lily said. "It'll involve a lot of lying, camping out, and quite a few more issues."

"What is it?" Regulus asked eagerly.

"Well…it's going to be complicated. But here it is." They leaned in to figure it out.


End file.
